Improved car-brake



G.H.HENKEL.

y vCaufBralke.

No. 54,152. Patented Apr. 24, 1866.

lli g f z Z b n m PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. HENKEL, OF MIDDLE'IOWN, OHIO.

-IMPRfov'x-:D GAR-BRAKE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,152, dated April 24, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE H. HENKEL, of Middletown, in the county of Butler, in thc State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brakes for Railroad-Gars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings represents. a side elevation of the platform and trucks ot' a car with my improved brake attached thereto.'

Fig. 2 represents the bott-om or under side of a railroad-car with my improvements .in carbrakes.

My invention consists in the application of double brakes to car-wheels by an arrangement of levers and rods or chains, as will be herein more fully described.

To enable others to construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification.

A denotes the platform or bottom of a car, and B is the truck, to which the wheels and axles are connected in the usual manner. B is the upper frame-piece of the truck, toV which the brakes a and a are hinged, as seen in the drawings at 'i z'. The brakes a and a are connected by ties g and h, as seen in Fig. 2; and the ties g g and h h are connected together, respectively,by the bars E and E. The axlejournals of the truck-wheels are seen at 7c k, extending through frame-piece B. One set or pair ofthe brakes of one of' the trucks is connected to one pair of brakes of the other truck by the rods d d,`and the other two pairs of brakes are connected by the rods d. These rods d and d may be connected to the ends of bars E and E', or to the ties g and h.

Underneath the center of the car-platform there is a string-beam, A', (seen in Fig. l.) D is a tumbler of triangular form of sufficient thickness to receive two friction-rolls, xx, which work against string-beam A when the brakes are operated. To the lower corner of tumbler D the ends of the two thrusting-levers c c are hinged, as represented in Fig. 1,*and these levers extend to the two inner brake-ties, g g, and are tted to their sides and tops loosely by means of a bolt or key which extends through an overlappin g portion of the levers c c, as seen at n n of Fig. l. The upper sides of these levers may be provided with metal bars to extend upon the inner ties, g g, and these bars may be provided with suitable holes for bolts to hold the levers c c in place. The bolts, however, must not confine the ends oi' the levers rigidly to the brake-ties, because, in operating the brakes, the levers are raised and depressed by the action of tumbler D. The rods d d, which extend to the ends of the cars, are connectedv to the tumblerD at o 0. These rods d may have chains at their ends to be attached to reel-shafts, to be operated in the usual manner at the ends of the cars. The ends ofthe levers c c, which are secured to the tumbler D, may be of a rounded form, and connected together by a flat link, so that these .ends shall press against each other when depressed by the action of the tumbler D. .A retracting-spring may be attached to either the tumbler, levers, or string-beam, for the purpose of throwing the tumbler out of place when one of its frictionrolls x x rests against the string-beam A.

The operation of my invention is effected in the following manner: Either of the rods d, by means of a chain connected to a reel-shaft, may be drawn so as to cause the tumblerD to move under the string-beam, causing one of the friction-rolls x tobear against and traverse the under side of beam A', which action of the tumbler will be communicated to levers c o, depressing their inner ends. The depression oi' these levers V'will cause their outer ends to press against the inner ties,g g, and the brakes a a a a being connected to ties g g g g the former will be pressed against the inner sides of the car-wheels. Both of the ties g g of each truck being connected longitudinally by bars E E, all four of them will be pressed against the inner sides of the car-wheels with equal force; and the same operation of tumbler D which causes the brakes a, a a a to be brought into action against the inner sides of' the car-wheels will at the same time cause the brakes a' a a a to be brought with equal force against the outer sides of the car-wheels, because these brakes a are fastened to the ties h h It l1., which are connected by bars E 1", which arein turn connected, respectively, by rods d el, to the ties g g, against which levers c c are caused to press by the action of tumbler D.

It will now be understood that the several brakes act at the same time, and, being actuated bythe same mechanism andpower,must

press with equal .force against the opposite sides or peripheries of the car-Wheels. This manner of braking cars will Wholly relieve the journals of the Wheels from that undue friction which is attendant upon the use of the single brakes generally in use.

My invention will also greatly lessen the Y liability of breaking the Wheel-axles, which tion will tend to raise the car from the Wheeljournals by transferringits Weight through the brakes to the periphery of the Wheels. The retracting-spring referred to above may not generally be found necessary to throw the tumbler out of contact with the string-beam,

because thefriction-rollar Will allow the tumbler to return to its normal condition out of contact with the lower side of the string-beam when the reel or capstan is reversed, so as to slacken the chain and rod d, by which the power is applied.

It is deemed proper to suggest that two rods,A arranged centrally and connected to ties g g, would serve the purpose of allfourof the rods denoted by d d.

Having now fully described my improvements in brakes for cars, what I claim therein, and desireV to secure by Letters Patent, isl l. rj he tumbler D, or its equivalent, in combination with levers c c, for operating car-A brakes, in the manner and substantially as described.

2. RodsY (l and tumbler D, provided with friction-rolls m a', in combination with stringbeam A', or its equivalent. substantially as described.

GEO. H. HENKEL.

Witnesses:

H. P. K. PEcK, CH. W. GATES. 

